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Association History 1911-2000The ‘30s By the ‘30s, because of increased travel, especially by automobile, health concerns of a city or town were no longer strictly a local matter. The health of the people in one place had become of vital concern to cities hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Milk, and by implication foods in general, had to be safe wherever travelers went, or the health of all was in danger. This fact led to the recognition of the need for uniform systems of protecting and evaluating milk and milk products, so that findings of one city could be compared with findings of other cities which formerly may have been considered too distant to threaten health. It was recognized that the need for uniformity in protection of the food supply could be met in more than one way: inspection could be centralized with the federal government, or the federal government could limit its role to providing principles and information to serve as the basis for efficient local control. The economic depression of the ‘30s was another factor that made the safety of milk more important than ever. As people were forced to decrease their consumption of other foods, especially the more expensive ones, milk became a more conspicuous proportion of total intakes. Obviously, education of the public on the health benefits of milk had been effective, so that the decline in consumption was much less extreme for milk than for many other types of food. Within the organization, problems included the following: When considering the "international" aspect of the name, did the Association offer assistance to countries throughout the world, some of which had public health problems rarely or never seen in relatively wealthy countries such as the United States? The Association continued its concern regarding qualifications of milk inspectors; at the time the Association was founded, practically all inspectors were government employees, but by the ‘30s, many non-government employees were engaged in various roles in the dairy industry. These inspectors, many of whom knew dairy work thoroughly, might be more effective inspectors than the government-employed inspectors; even those who were veterinarians with extensive academic knowledge of diseases of animals did not ensure broad practical knowledge of dairy work. Equipment design was proceeding rapidly, and new forms of equipment were being installed and used without any control beyond the assurance of the manufacturer that the equipment was effective in protecting public health. Thus appeared another layer of potential liability: should the producer be held responsible for the condition of the milk delivered from the farm, or should the manufacturer of new equipment be held accountable for demonstrating its effectiveness in safeguarding health? Membership in the Association increased after 1931, when another class of Member, the Associate Member, was proposed for those interested in promoting dairy sanitation. Active Membership would be reserved for those Members officially engaged in dairy or milk inspection, including laboratory control or administration of such inspection, and of those officially engaged in research or educational activities related to dairy or milk inspection. The control of milk sanitation was recognized as one of the more important functions of a Department of Health, for several reasons. First, milk was the sole food available during early infancy for babies who were not breast fed. Second, milk was an important food, if not the only food, suitable for people recovering from certain diseases. Remember, this was years before medical and nutritional advances such as special baby formulas, baby cereals, strained fruits and vegetables in jars, and total parenteral nutrition for use in hospitalized patients. Finally, milk was almost universally used by the American public. Almost everybody drank some, and for most it was a daily part of their lives. Thus, safe milk had an extraordinary opportunity to improve peoples’ health by providing a sizable share of their daily nutritional needs, but at the same time, unclean milk had a day-by-day opportunity to cause infection in large numbers of those who consumed it. In addition to posing a threat because of its condition at the moment it was obtained from the cow, milk had numerous opportunities to become dangerous by virtue of its being one of the most perishable of foods. The many manipulations unavoidable between the moment it leaves the cow and the moment it enters the consumer make milk highly susceptible to contamination time after time, at each step along the way. The growing importance of the new science of nutrition was obvious by the early 1930s, when several talks on the nutritive value of milk appeared on the program at the Annual Meetings. Raw milk was compared to pasteurized milk from the point of view of nutritional differences, rather than from the bacteriological viewpoint alone; production of antirachitic milk by changing the feed of dairy cattle was described; and the responsibility of milk commissions for control of nutritive factors in certified milk was stressed. A paper on natural and induced variations in the vitamin values of milk was another example of the growing emphasis on nutritive value rather than bacteriological safety exclusively. However, the primary emphasis continued to be bacteriological quality. In a round table discussion, "Is a single grade of pasteurized milk sufficient?" One health official took the affirmative and another the negative position. The need for uniformity in milk laws and regulations — uniformity between states as well as within a state — continued to be discussed, and essential requirements for clean safe milk for pasteurization were identified and discussed over and over, with consideration at every level: the herd, the farm, the receiving station, and the milk handler. Milkborne epidemics became less frequent as pasteurization became more common in the 1930s, but a few outbreaks continued to occur, most commonly resulting from a combination of two factors: milk from cows with chronic mastitis caused by hemolytic streptococci, and lack of pasteurization of this milk (i.e., consumption of raw milk). Other diseases, notably bovine tuberculosis, had been largely eradicated by programs carried out by Federal and State Departments of Agriculture. By 1934, sales of milk had declined because of the economic depression in the United States. The Bureau of Home Economics in the USDA set a standard for use of milk — one quart a day per child and one pint a day per adult — but economic realities made this impossible for many families. Adequate milk was available; in fact milk surpluses were common, but welfare programs were inadequate for purchasing surplus milk and distributing it to people who could not afford the purchase price. As pointed out at the Association meeting in 1936, typhoid carriers (those who may not have a recognized case of typhoid fever but who harbor the organism in the intestinal tract and who can infect others through food) continued to be employed in the milk and food industries, and "careless men in the dairy industry" who continued to milk cows with ulcers on their udders were still all-too-common threats to public health. The Association proposed that state associations, which during the 1930s existed only in a few of the larger states, should be formed in all states that had 25 or more International Association of Milk Inspectors Members. The advantages of a state association would be to accord to milk sanitarians professional privileges not otherwise available; to increase their local prestige; to publicize the work of milk sanitarians; to serve as a unifying body, similar to a union; to give sanitarians a voice that could be heard with regard to local measures related to health; and to improve their work by allowing them to pool their knowledge. In 1933, the International Association of Milk Sanitarians recognized the need for a journal to replace the Annual Reports that met the needs of the Association for years. A special committee on Association Publication was appointed and after thorough study of the subject, it presented comprehensive reports at the 1934 and 1935 Annual Meeting outling the editorial and managerial requirements involved. At the 1936 Annual Meeting, the subject was referred to the Executive Board. The Board requested the special committee to establish a journal. The result was the creation of the Journal of Milk Technology. The first bi-monthly publication was issued in January 1938. The end of the 1930s saw continued growth of the Affiliates and the Journal of Milk Technology was a major factor in that growth. The Journal quickly gained many individuals, institutions, and companies as subscribers and received requests from numerous libraries around the world. The primary function of the Journal was to keep the Membership informed about new developments in dairy technology, to serve as a medium for publication of the papers presented at Annual Meetings, and to maintain communication between officers and Members throughout the year. In an open letter in the January 1938 issue of the Journal, the President urged Members to seek to secure an even greater Membership: "Let every one of us try and secure a new Member — one who is truly interested in the sanitary production of milk and its products. We are not interested in mere numbers. We are looking for real quality, not just quantity." This philosophy still holds today. It should be emphasized that the Association was playing a vital role in improving health, in the nation and in the world. Early in the century, many outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid fever, diphtheria, and Staphylococcus and Streptococcus infections had been associated directly with milk and milk products, as had been discussed at both Affiliate and Association meetings. A closer liaison was being developed between the sanitarians on one hand, and academia and industry on the other. Early on, news of the Affiliates was published in the Journal, and some Affiliates publicized their upcoming meeting dates and the titles of topics to be discussed. The Journal of Milk Technology published notices from several local or regional associations in 1939. The New York State Association of Dairy and Milk Inspectors pointed out the continuing problem of sales of "questionable raw milk" on the outskirts of cities in which the sale of such milk was prohibited. The Central States Milk Sanitarians announced plans for its first annual meeting and urged members of that group to "make the Journal of Milk Technology our meeting place between the yearly meetings." The following year, several other announcements from state associations were published in the Journal of Milk Technology. The California Association of Dairy and Milk Inspectors announced that members had appointed a legislative committee to represent it in matters of legislation affecting its members’ work; the Central States group reported attendance by about 100 members at its first annual meeting and pointed out the obvious interest in having such an association, in which those interested in milk quality could unite; the Chicago Dairy Technology Society reported a meeting at which a device, the Vacreator, was described and research on control of proteolytic organisms in milk cans was summarized; and the Massachusetts Milk Inspectors Association presented speakers on such diverse topics as Bang’s disease, food poisoning, and new equipment shown at the latest national dairy show in Atlantic City.’ The ‘40s The 1940s found the World engulfed in war, and many of the Association’s Members went into uniform. The 1941 Membership was 1,146, of whom 255 were new Members. Members now represented 43 states, the District of Columbia, Mexico, Colombia, the West Indies, Ireland, England, and Thailand. Circulation of the Journal exceeded 2,300. That year’s secretary wrote in the Journal that the Association had an important part to play in our national defense program, and it was imperative for milk control officials to take a common-sense attitude toward the policies of the Priorities Board of the Office of Production Management (OPM): "No one person or agency has the slightest desire to hinder or retard any effort which is being made to promote public health or diminish the gains already made. However, we have been depending up until now upon materials and labor which are now essential for national defense. Starting now, we will be using material which is new to us, yet will do the job we desire. We will have to get along with used equipment which in times past we would have called ‘obsolete’ or ‘worn out’… Cooperation with the OPM will not result in lowering the standards which have been set for a safe milk supply. The dairy industry is an essential food industry." With the country at war, state and local regulatory officials assumed increasing responsibilities for milk, food and environmental sanitation. In many sections of the country, large influxes of both military and civilian populations burdened health officials with maintaining an adequate and safe food supply, safe water, and solid and liquid waste disposal systems. Additionally, regulatory personnel worked with the military to ensure that off-base food service operations and housing met appropriate standards. More sanitarians were employed, many of whom joined the Affiliates and the Association, both of which provided avenues for disseminating information. Affiliates’ news releases listed presentations with titles such as "Interesting Development in the Feeding of Soldiers" and "Milk Control in the Defense Program." A 1942 meeting featured a discussion on "The Problem of Sabotage in Dairy Plants." One of the challenges of the day was The 1943 Annual Meeting was cancelled in response to a request from ODT, which cited the burden that conventions and association meetings placed on the country’s war-stressed transportation facilities. Between 1942 and 1944, therefore, Members relied on the Affiliates and the Journal for the exchange of information normally provided by the Annual Meeting. In 1944, the Annual Meeting was revived and held in Chicago. The ODT had asked, as it had in 1943, that no conventions be held unless they were vital to the country’s military efforts. Why was a Meeting even held in 1944? The Executive Board considered the ODT’s request, but concluded unanimously that the problems confronting Members of the Association were such that it would have been a disservice to the industry, and to all organizations having contact with the industry, if the Association failed to use every means available and make every effort possible to solve those problems. Thus, the Executive Board believed that holding the Annual Meeting was in conformance to the wishes and policies of the ODT because participation of Members in those deliberations fully met the standard of being "vital to the war effort." The Presidential Address was also revived in 1944 in spite of the objections of some Members who saw it as a long, boring time infringing on other activities. The President felt it necessary to speak before the group because of the two years that had passed since the last Meeting and because he wished to offer suggestions for future policy and action. One major problem he pointed out was the inactivity of several committees. (It is interesting to note that most organizations encounter problems with committees, and the Association would continue to struggle with Members’ involvement on Committees.) The President proposed that any Member of the Association or Affiliate who would like to participate in a committee project write to the President and identify his or her committee preference. In that manner, committee chairpersons would be assured of enthusiasm on the part of some of the Members of their committees, and the task of the President would be simplified and facilitated. Implementation of such a custom would advance the welfare of the Association by providing a means for new, relatively unknown Members to participate actively in committee activities and to "bring their lights out from under a bushel." Even today, many new Members are reluctant to express interest in serving on a particular committee or becoming an officer. Five state associations became Affiliates of the International Association in 1944, resulting in a healthy increase in Membership. The President indicated that restaurant and food sanitarians were becoming organization-minded, with starting a national association and publishing their own journal as their ultimate objectives. Many of these restaurant sanitarians were also milk sanitarians because of their employment in health departments of counties and small municipalities. One such local organization of restaurant sanitarians had inquired about affiliation with this Association. The pros and cons of accepting restaurant sanitarians into the Association, including the impact on the Journal of Milk Technology, were laid out, and the President urged the Affiliates and the Executive Board to give mature consideration to the subject. The following year opened with the world still at war and with the country unified in meeting the challenges of war. The term "sacrifice" had been redefined. Industry was operating on a 24-hour schedule to turn out ships, planes, tanks, and other war materials, and the dairy and food industries were geared to provide safe products for the troops and to develop new foods, including rations, powdered eggs, dried milk, and new types of canned goods, for use throughout the world, from the steaming tropics to the frozen tundra. By May of 1945, the war ended in Europe, and a few months later, the war with Japan came to an end. World War II had been extremely devastating in terms of both loss of life and physical destruction, but the world responded and began to use its knowledge and technology to rebuild. Because of the war effort, the 1945 Annual Meeting was cancelled. The war had enhanced the rate of growth in technological areas, as was quite evident in the areas of milk and food processing and packaging. The Association continued to do much to unify and standardize the science of milk control and to provide the latest information on changes through the bi-monthly Journal of Milk Technology, whose circulation was more than 3,000 and which was being sent to 17 countries by 1946. At the 34th Annual Meeting in 1946, it was reported that the consensus of the correspondence from Members favored including food and restaurant sanitarians in the Association. Members voted to adopt this proposal, along with other amendments to the Constitution. Considerable time was spent discussing the position of Secretary-Treasurer, particularly the increasing demands of the position and the need for compensation for his time and work. It was proposed that arrangements be made for a Secretary-Treasurer to be employed full time; in the interim period, the Secretary-Treasurer’s office should be a part-time position. The Association’s President formally declared in 1947 that the official name of the Association was now the International Association of Milk and Food Sanitarians (IAMFS). This name change was in response to adding food and restaurant sanitarians to the Membership. Also at the 1947 Annual Meeting, a Past President presented a resolution that IAMFS make available, at reasonable cost, reprints of the sanitary standards published in the Journal of Milk and Food Technology, the resolution was adopted. It was pointed out in the 1948 Journal, that, since the war’s end, development in the field of detergents and bactericides had been so numerous and rapid as to confuse many milk and food sanitarians as well as many users of these products. Products flooding the market had not always been evaluated regarding their effectiveness in use. Cleaners and sanitizers were therefore popular topics of discussion on agendas that year. The 1949 Journal reported on a National Sanitation Conference, held under the auspices of the National Sanitation Foundation, to consider the need for, and means of, further development of sanitation. Twenty-eight national organizations participated, representing public health, medicine, education, industrial hygiene, and other areas. Out of this conference came a popular quote, "Sanitation is a way of life," as exemplified by the clean house, the clean business and industry, the clean neighborhood, and the clean community. Report of Special Committee on Association Publication Presented at the Annual Meeting, At the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Association of Milk Sanitarians held in Montreal, Canada in 1931, the suggestion was made, and renewed at subsequent meetings, that consideration be given to the establishment of an Association journal. Following the 1933 Annual Meeting, a Special Committee on Association Publication was appointed. After thorough study of the subject it presented comprehensive reports at the 1934 and 1935 Annual Meetings outlining the editorial and managerial requirements involved. At the 1936 Annual Meeting in Atlantic City, NJ, the subject was referred to the Executive Board with power to act. The original Special Committee on Association Publication, with additions, was requested by the Executive Board to establish a journal, if practicable, subject to the approval of the Board. Several meetings were held during the year, one being a joint session with the Executive Board. After consideration of all phases of the problem including possible affiliation with other publications, it was decided that a journal is essential in the field of milk technology and the Association is able and ought to proceed with such a publication. There are ample indications that with proper management such a journal can be made financially self-sustaining. Accordingly, and acting with the approval of the Executive Board and with the personal assistance of the Association President, the Special Committee on Association Publication has established and presents herewith the JOURNAL OF MILK TECHNOLOGY. The first issue, published without cost to the Association, is a Special Convention Number for the Association’s Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky. It is presented as a part of this report. The Special Committee on Association Publication recommends: that the International Association of Milk Sanitarians formally designate the JOURNAL OF MILK TECHNOLOGY as its official publication to be published in lieu of the Annual Report; that, beginning in January 1938, the Journal be inaugurated as a bi-monthly publication; that the Association take action at the 1937 Annual Meeting on the following: publication policies; and management, including editing and business; finances; management be made responsible to the Executive Board of the Association. Respectfully submitted, Wm. B. Palmer, C. Sidney Leete, J. J. Regan, J. H. Shrader, and J. A. Tobey. Reprinted from the Journal of Milk Technology, Volume 1 — 1937-1938.
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